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PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

THE city of Dublin is one of the most splendid in Europe, and is particularly distinguished for its Public Buildings. We shall notice the Castle, the Custom-house, the Bank, the Royal Exchange, the Post-Office, Kilmainham Hospital, and the Penitentiary.

DUBLIN CASTLE.

The Castle of Dublin is situated on the highest ground and nearly in the centre of the city. It is divided into two courts, the upper and the lower. The former which contains the apartments of the Lord Lieutenant is a quadrangle, two hundred and eighty feet long by one hundred and thirty feet broad, with uniform buildings on every side. Over the principal entrance from Cork-hill is an excellent statue of Justice, and over the other gate a statue of Fortitude. The Viceroy's apartments occupy the whole of the south-side, and part of the east end, the remainder of the court being occupied by the apartments and offices of the Chief Secretary and various officers of the Household.

The grand approach to the Viceregal apartments is a colonnade, over which is the presence-chamber, furnished with a throne and canopy covered with crimson velvet, richly ornamented with gold-lace and carved work gilt.

From a rich stucco ceiling hangs an elegant glass lustre of the Waterford manufactory, purchased by the late Duke of Rutland at the expense of 270l. But the object which attracts the greatest attention is the ball-room, or St. Patrick's-hall, so called since the institution of the Order of Knights of St. Patrick. This

noble room, which is eighty-two feet long, forty-one feet broad, and thirty-eight high, is decorated by some fine paintings, particularly the ceiling, the flat of which is divided into three compartments, an oblong rectangle at each end, and a circle in the middle. In one of the rectangles, St. Patrick is represented converting the Irish to Christianity; and in the other Henry II. seated under a canopy, receives the submission of the Irish chieftains. In the cir cle, his late majesty King George III. is seen, supported by Liberty and Justice, while various allegorical representations allude to the happy effects resulting to this country from his auspicious reign. The cornice of the room is also richly painted. The ingenious artist was Mr. Waldron. At each end of the room is a gallery for the musicians and spectators. The levees and drawing-rooms are respectably attended, though by no means so numerously as they were previous to the legislative union. A guard of horse and foot with regimental music, mounts at the Castle every morning, in the same manner as at the Royal Palace in London.

The lower court, though larger, (being 250 feet by 220) is more irregular in form and very inferior in appearance. On the north side are the Treasury, the Hanaper, Register, and Au

The Ordnance Office,

ditor-General's Offices. which is a modern brick building, stands at the east end, where is also the arsenal and an armory containing arms for 40,000 men, with some cannon and mortars, besides guard-houses, riding-houses, stables, &c. There is a small lawn, adorned with trees and shrubs, called the Castle-garden, with which Viceregal apartments communicate by a large flight of steps from the terrace before the garden front. Two other buildings in the lower castle-yard demand a more particular description.

New Castle Chapel.-The old edifice had long been in a ruinous condition, and in 1807, during the Viceroyalty of the Duke of Bedford it was taken down. The first stone of the new building was laid by his Grace, and it was finished in seven years, at the expense of 42,000l., being opened for divine service on Christmas-day, 1814, during the administration of Earl Whitworth. The chapel, which is seventy-three feet long, and thirty-five broad, is raised with calpe or common Irish black stone. The exterior is ornamented with no less than ninety heads, including all the Sovereigns of England. They are formed of dark blue marble from the quarries of Tullamore, which for susceptibility of expression and durability of texture is not inferior to the finest statuary marble. The great entrance on the north side is surmounted by a fine bust of St. Peter holding a key, and above it over a window, a bust of Dean Swift. Over the east entrance are the busts of St. Patrick and Brian Boiromhe, king of Ireland, and over them that of the Virgin

Mary. A monastic battlement ornaments the door-way, which is pointed, and over it is the great east window, richly ornamented with Gothic foliage. The gavel terminates above in a rich antique cross, and at each angle are square towers rising to the height of the roof.

The interior of the chapel is beautiful in the extreme. It consists of a choir without nave or transept, finished in the richest style of Gothic architecture. Buttresses springing from grotesque heads, and ornamented with rich foliage, support the sides. Between the buttresses are pointed windows, surmounted by labels. The east window over the communion-table is adorned with stained glass finely executed.The subject is Christ befor Pilate. This glass was a present from Lord Whitworth, by whom it was purchased on the Continent. The compartments beneath this piece are filled up with the four Evangelists, executed in Dublin. The roof is supported by six clustered pillars on the side, terminating with capitals covered with foliage. The ceiling is formed of groined arches springing from grotesque heads of modelled stucco; it is richly ornamented with tracery, and painted in imitation of stone. The pulpit, desk, gallery and pews are all of Irish oak. In the gallery on the right side is a throne for each Lord Lieutenant, and opposite one for the Archbishop. In the centre panel of the front of the organ-gallery, the King's arms are neatly carved, and on either side those of the Dukes of Bedford and Richmond; from these are placed alternately the arms of all the Viceroys of Ireland to the earliest period. The pulpit rests

on a shaft issuing from an open bible, and the panels are enriched with the arms of the monarchs Henry, Elizabeth, Edward, and William, who were the great supporters of the Reformation, together with those of the Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland. The whole of this beautiful chapel, with the exception of the stained glass, was planned and executed by native artists. Mr. Johnson was the architect; the two Smiths executed the sculpture, and Stewart the carved work and modelling.

The Record Office. From the period of the conquest much evil had resulted from the want of a secure repository for the public Records of Ireland. The private houses of the officers were generally the places where these documents, so essential to national property were deposited; in consequence of which, whether through intention or negligence, many of them were lost. After the erection of the Four Courts, such of the Records as appeared more immediately connected with the law, were removed to offices prepared for them, but many other most valuable documents were unprovided with a repository in those offices. In order to remedy this evil, his late Majesty, in 1810, issued Letters Patent, at the recommendation of the House of Commons, for forming a commission to provide for the better arrangement and preservation of the Public Records in Ireland.

The Wardrobe Tower, in the Lower Castleyard, has been fitted up by Mr. Johnson as a repository for the Records, and all combustible materials removed from the floors and stairIt contains offices for the Secretary,

cases.